Geoff Kors To Leave Equality California

Equality California executive director Geoff Kors revealed today that he'll be leaving the organization this spring. EQCA spearheaded the unsuccessful attempt to defeat Proposition 8 in 2008. Seth Hemmelgarn at Bay Area Reporter:

Kors, who has been EQCA's only executive director since it was created in 1998, announced this morning (Friday, December 3) that he's resigning from the group, effective March 31. The date marks the eve of his ninth anniversary with the state's biggest LGBT rights organization. "I felt I'm ready to do some different things," Kors, 49, told the Bay Area Reporter , adding that nine years is a "long tenure" for the leader of a political organization like EQCA. He has yet to decide where he'll go next and has not applied yet for any other jobs.

Widely criticized for his leadership of the unsuccessful fight to defeat Prop 8 in the fall of 2008, Kors declined to talk about regrets or things he would've done differently. Instead, he talked about his accomplishments. He said when he became executive director, there was a staff of two, there was no statewide LGBT political action committee, and California was "a state with very limited rights" for same-sex couples. At the time, couples had less than 15 legal rights and protections, and there are now more than 400. He also pointed to employment and housing protections for transgender people

Read Hemmelgarn's complete analysis of Kors' tenure.

Quote Of The Day - Geoff Kors

"One of the things I sincerely hope Ken Mehlman has done or will do is to explain to George W. Bush how denying LGBT people equality causes real harm and how the GOP's anti-equality platform and campaigns lead to teen suicides and hate crimes. I hope he explains how bigotry impacted him and that he has asked George W Bush to join his wife Laura in supporting marriage equality. If he can convince Bush to publicly change his position that would be powerful.

"And I hope he shares with the public how the GOP used animus towards gay people to pass anti-marriage state constitutional amendments, as that will bolster the federal Prop 8 case. What he does to undo the damage he caused can be a part of his legacy and working with AFER to help overturn Prop 8 is a good start. We all have to hope he goes all out and proves he is a talented political strategist -- this time on the side of equality." - Equality California head Geoff Kors, speaking to reporter Rex Wockner.

HomoQuotable - B. Daniel Blatt

"In his latest email, the head of the gay affiliate of the California Democratic Party 'Equality California' tells us about 'the U.S. Constitution’s promise of equality for all'. Funny, I’ve read the U.S. Constitution more times than I can count and have never found. The framers did indicate that the charter’s purpose includes securing 'the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity'.

"Save for the Fourteenth Amendment when the word, 'equal,' appears, it only refers to legislative voting. And that Amendment specifies that 'No State shall make or enforce any law' which denies 'to any person within its jurisdiction.' Not sure how you get from that to a 'promise of equality.' Sorry, Geoff, you can’t read your ideological watchword into the constitution. It just ain’t there." - Gay Patriot blogger B. Daniel Blatt, hoping to be the next gay kapo quoted in court filings against marriage equality.